Brant seeks Ontario help with interchange

Brant County is seeking help from the provincial government to pay for the construction of a new $6-million Highway 403 interchange at Bishopsgate Road to handle an increase in traffic from aggregate operations and residential development in the Burford area and relieve pressure from Rest Acres Road.

"The traffic on Rest Acres Road has increased dramatically over the past number of years," Mayor Ron Eddy said in a news release issued Monday.

"The increase in traffic is due to many factors, including significant residential development and a growing number of aggregate trucks on the roadways."

To give Rest Acres a break, construction of an interchange at Bishopsgate is needed to handle proposed aggregate operations in the Burford area, the county said.

"The county must proactively respond to this demand," said Coun. Brian Coleman, chairman of council's public works committee,

He said that provincial help is needed to fun the project.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation has repeatedly made clear that financing the interchange is a municipal responsibility.

"The ministry understands that a new interchange at Highway 403 and Bishopsgate Road has benefits for Brant County and we support the concept," Liane Fisher Bloxam, the ministry's communications co-ordinator, said Monday in an email.

The ministry and the County entered into a legal agreement, for the design and construction of a new interchange at Highway 403 and Bishopsgate Road and improvements to the Highway 403 and Highway 24 (Rest Acres Road) interchange, in July of 2015, Bloxam explained.

"We have been working together on the preliminary design and environmental assessments for both a new interchange at Highway 403 and Bishopsgate Road and improvements to the Highway 403 and Highway 24 (Rest Acres Road). These studies are nearing completion."

The ministry understands Brant continues to seek funding from the province for these projects, she said.

"Highway improvements at the Highway 403 and Highway 24 (Rest Acres Road) interchange, as well as a new interchange at Highway 403 Bishopsgate Road, are the financial responsibility (i.e. design and construction) of the County since they are required to accommodate the County’s development projects.

"However, we look forward to continuing to participate in the technical aspects of this work."

At the annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference last week in Toronto, a delegation of Brant councillors and senior administrators pressed the case for provincial financing for the interchange during a meeting with Transportation Minister Kathryn McGarry.

"We had the opportunity to meet and request financial contributions for this project from the minister," Coleman said.

"We are eager to see this project commence."

Eddy said that discussions about the new interchange have been "productive and co-operative" but the ministry is sticking to its position on financing.

"The county recognizes the aggregate industry is important to the provincial economy and is an important local player," he said.

"But contributions from the aggregate industry through tax assessments and royalty revenues are inadequate to fund a project such as a new interchange. Given the provincial importance of this project, the county continues to seek significant contribution from the province."

Eddy also noted the interchange will become a provincial asset once completed.

The county has been working on getting approval for the Bishopsgate interchange for several years and has included the project as a potential objective in its transportation master plan.